Social Policy and Philanthropy in Lithuania: Theoretical Interpretations and Empirical Insights

Eglė Vaidelytė

Abstract

Social policy and philanthropy are often considered as the two faces of the coin. Many of welfare and civil society theorists view philanthropy as an expression of state welfare policy, or on the contrary, it appears when state social policy is rather weak. It is assumed that a strong role of the state in social policy results in decline of philanthropic initiatives. The paper discusses the issues of philanthropy situation in Lithuania, the role of the state in social policy, and the post-communist welfare model. The study is based on the results of a quantitative and qualitative research that offer some challenging findings. The analysis reveals the conflict among state social policy, philanthropic actors’ attitudes and expectations of the society.